MAN COLLAPSES, DIES AT BORDER INSPECTION

San Diego police are investigating the death of a 51-year-old man who died Saturday night after he was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

The cause of the man’s death was not known Sunday and an autopsy was pending, police said. His name was being withheld until family could be notified.

The passenger and two relatives, a 45-year-old male driver and 63-year-old female passenger — all U.S. citizens — had arrived at the port from Tijuana through the regular vehicle lanes about 6:30 p.m. when an inspector directed their vehicle to the secondary inspection area, border authorities said. They were driving a 2004 Acura MDX.

During an officer’s review, the male passenger was handcuffed and taken to the security office for further investigation, according to a statement.

Inside the security office, the officer took off the man’s handcuffs and directed him to empty his pockets, police said. The man collapsed as he placed his items on the counter. The agent caught him, laid him on the floor, and began CPR until medics and other officers arrived, the statement said.

The man was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:03 p.m.

“Customs and Border Protection agents did not use any force on the suspect when taking him into custody or transporting him for processing,” the statement said.

The two family members traveling with the man were initially detained, but were released.

Sandra Dibble • U-T

Man shot to death in Mountain View

Mountain View

San Diego police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man after 11 p.m. Saturday on South 45th Street near Logan Avenue.

When officers arrived at the scene of the reported shooting, they found an unresponsive man on the ground with at least one gunshot wound. Despite efforts by police and paramedics, the man died at the scene.

Police believe the victim was approached by two men on foot, who, after a brief conversation, shot the victim before running away. The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of his family.

Anyone with information regarding this case can call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Andrew Kleske • U-T

Pedestrian critically injured; driver arrested

Pacific Beach

A suspected drunken driver with her son in the car struck a pedestrian crossing Mission Bay Drive on Saturday night, San Diego police said.

The victim, a man in his late 50s, suffered severe head injuries. Paramedics took him to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

He was crossing Mission Bay Drive at Damon Avenue, north of Garnet Avenue, when he was struck by a Volkswagen Beetle about 10:20 p.m., police Officer David Stafford said. He described the man’s injuries as life-threatening.

Stafford said the driver, age 54, had her 13-year-old son with her. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Mexican Mafia figure given 14 years in prison

San diego

A high-ranking member of the Mexican Mafia who pleaded guilty to committing various crimes for the prison-based gang was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Robert Mercado, 51, of San Diego, was one of 36 people arrested last year as part of an investigation into Mexican Mafia crime. The probe was led by the FBI’s Violent Crime Task Force Gang Group.

Mercado pleaded guilty to violent crime in aid of racketeering. The crimes included a stabbing, drug trafficking and extortion.

As of Friday, 30 of the 36 defendants have been convicted, federal officials said in a statement.

The Mexican Mafia controls drug dealing, extortion and other crimes of Latino street gangs in San Diego and elsewhere in Southern California.

The task force includes investigators from the FBI, U.S. Bureau of Prisons, and police departments in San Diego, Chula Vista and National City.

Susan Shroder • U-T

Fire heavily damages home in La Jolla

La Jolla

A fire early Sunday displaced five adults and caused heavy damage to a single-family residence on Gravilla Street near Vista del Mar Avenue in La Jolla, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

The incident was reported shortly after 3:20 a.m. as a roof on fire, and was put out 20 minutes after firefighters arrived. Collaborating in the effort were two battalion chiefs, four engines and two trucks, the report stated.